Death Is Just A State Of Mind
by AnimeVamp1997
Summary: Harry Potter gets a second chance at life, and along with it, maybe a new love? But will he stay stuck in the past and ruin his chances at a new life and love? Slash.
1. Prologue

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"You _need _it! You've just been sulking for years now! Come on, you'll get a whole new _life!_ It's called Second Life for a reason you know!"

"... Tch."

"Don't you 'Tch!' me! I will make you play it if it's the last thing I do, no matter that you're the famous Harry Potter and can completely kick my ass if you wanted to! And that's another thing. You don't even want to kick my ass like you would during the War if I was bothering you! It's _weird!_"

"... Hn."

"Oh now you're just being a smartass."

Dull emerald-green eyes stared, taking in the man who had been by his side since the War. He was tall, but everyone was taller than him, with light brown shoulder length hair and bright blue eyes. _So much like.._ That train of thought was immediately smashed. David was muscular, very much so, and enthusiastic. He had a playful personality and was very friendly as he had found out when they had met after the First Battle of Hogwarts.

"David."

Said man sighed at his flat tone and ran a hand through his hair in frustrated exasperation. He then clasped his hands together in front of him and made a begging face.

"Please?"

Harry Potter stared.

David stared back.

He leaned forward slightly, blank face still on.

David leaned forward as well and suddenly -

_Flick._

David jerked backward from the flick to his forehead with a 'WTF?!' face.

"The hell was that for?!"

"No."

"_Ugh!_"

Harry put his chin in his left hand, looking towards the side from his perch on the sofa in his apartment. David and he had met on the battlefield, before everyone had died. After the First Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, David, and the others had left for training. Five years of intense training, filled with near-death experiences and new scars. David had been a seventh year Hufflepuff and had followed Harry and his friends throughout the war, quickly becoming a part of the tight-knit group.

However, even with all their extra training, from their group only Harry and David lived. It shook Harry to his core, breaking him. He became a shell of himself, emotionless and blank. Brilliant green eyes that had burned with an inner fire grew dull, and he killed without mercy. Through it all, David stayed by his side, showing the loyalty that was Hufflepuff's pride. After Voldemort was defeated, the two couldn't stand to be in the world any longer. So, they took the obvious route.

They jumped worlds.


	2. I'll Drink to That

Days had since passed, and David was still trying to get him to play Second Life. It had been out for a day now and David was still going strong. Harry was once again in the living room, sitting indian style of the couch boredly watching the television on the back wall. The apartment was small, with a hallway connecting the front door to the kitchen and living room in the front, and in the back on each side of the hallway was their respective bedrooms. David was sprawled on the floor between the couch and the glass coffee table, moaning about how he wouldn't play the game.

"Oh come on! You know I've been working on the game since the idea first came out! I at least want my best friend to tell me if he likes it!"

When they had first came here, it had been a little over seventy years ago. They had soon figured out that time in the worlds worked differently. Their internal clock was set for _their _world, and in this world, ten years here equals one year in their original world. Even though they were both around the later-nineties, they both looked as if they were twenty-seven. It had made for some interesting travels though. In the time they had been here, they had both gone to various different universities in different countries and states, learning to pass the time. David had gotten into game design in the last twenty years, and had managed to get a high job in the company that made Second Life.

Of course, once David realized the potential it had to make Harry better again, he had gone all out in making him play. Well, _trying_ to make him play it. Harry sighed and shifted his legs to get the blood flowing again. He stared at the television once more without really seeing it before slowly moving his gaze to David. He perked up at Harry's gaze.

"What would you give me?" He asked.

David blinked rapidly. "What would I give you?"

"Yes." Harry said bluntly.

"Uuumm..." David stuttered.

Harry raised an eyebrow with a faintly expectant look.

"I'll... give you a special wish!" David exclaimed.

Another eyebrow was raised. "A.. wish?"

David nodded seriously. "Yes."

Slowly, Harry nodded as well. A shocked look came over David's face.

"Really? Really?! It was that easy? Why didn't you just say yes earlier?!" David shouted.

"Because you wouldn't stop bothering me."

"Tch."

"Don't copy me."

* * *

David shoved a box in Harry's hands as he sat at the edge of his bed. On the front of the box facing Harry was a blatantly happy smiling face with the Second Life helmet on, and immediately he began to regret his decision. Overly happy things irritated him. If everything in the game was _that _happy, then he refused to play it. He raised his eyes to meet David's eager ones.

"Go on, open it!" He whispered excitedly.

Harry looked back to the box and with a slight grimace carefully opened to box pulling out a bubble wrapped helmet. He unwrapped the helmet from the bubble wrap, tempted to just play with the bubble wrap instead. David snatched the wrap away before he could play with it however.

"Alright, all you have to do is put it on, turn it on, and go to sleep. So do it!" David was almost shouting now.

Harry shot him an annoyed look before doing as he said, waving David out so he could attempt to sleep. He couldn't fall asleep when other people were near, paranoia and old habits from the War still with him even after all these years. He laid down and closed his eyes.

A black expanse greeting him moments after.

Harry frowned, noticing that he was standing upwards in the blackness right before blinding white light illuminated everything and David's voice rang out.

"Just wait one moment Harry, we have to do an infrared and sound wave scan."

Harry glared through watering eyes at a blurry David.

"I did not know you were a GM."

David grinned widely. "Of course! After working on the game for so long you would thin I _would._ And anyway, I requested it. Now that the scans are done as soon as you put on the helmet I gave you, you can start playing." He ended cheerfully.

Harry got a slightly anxious feeling in his chest. "You... requested it?"

David's grin grew nervous." Um, yes?"

The anxious feeling grew. "You planned this didn't you?"

Nervousness seemed to come off in waves of David now and his eyes slightly shifted to the side. "Uumm... yes?" He squeaked.

It took all Harry had _not _to kill David at that moment, as he got the confirmation that David had _specially requested_ to become a GM just to keep an eye on him. Instead, he counted to ten in all the different languages he knew and pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. He took a deep calming breath before facing David again.

"Let's just get this over with." He sighed.

Across from him David seemed to deflate with relief after he didn't get attacked and waved a hand in the air. "First all you have to do is choose a race."

Harry jumped as the many different races appeared around him.

"The main races are divided into humans, elves, dark elves, dwarfs, celestials, elementals and beasts." David had regained his cheerfulness by the end of his sentence.

As Harry looked around at the many different races, he knew that the creation of his character was going to take quite a while.

Gaze roving over all the races, only one caught his eye.

"Let me see myself in demon form."

Immediately all the other races disappeared and his demon form took place in front of him. Their body structures were exactly the same. Short though lithe with wiry muscles and long limbs made for speed and precision rather than strength. Long silky hair flowed down his back to his knees with the signature messiness that defined his hair. Only one glowing green eye devoid of a pupil stared back at him, the other covered by his fringe. His character grinned at him showing him perfectly straight teeth - but what surprised him the most was the length and sharpness of his top canines. They were almost the length of a vampire's with the sharpness of a lethal blade but easily hidden behind his lips.

He was wearing flowing plain black robes that draped around his form seductively, something he frowned at and made a mental note to change. Two long, thin ivory horns protruded from his temples and curled back to run parallel to his head until it turned slightly upwards at the ends, tapered to a shining, _sharp_ end. The ivory color of his horns contrasted nicely with the pitch black of his hair, something Harry appreciated. Harry glanced down to his characters hands and was surprised once again. His fingertips were long cruel claws, almost four inches long and entirely black. His toes ended in the same way if a little bit shorter and curled towards the ground. Harry's eyes caught movement and swishing through the air was a black tail. A tail that belonged to the character before him. It was as long as Harry was tall, and looked leathery though as he looked closer he saw fine black hairs completely covering it.

It seemed his character was designed to _define_ beauty. He wasn't really surprised seeing as much of the demons he had ever met in his time were all extremely beautiful. The only reason for their beauty was to attract humans so they could kill them though... Harry mentally shuddered. He looked away from his character to see David staring at his character contemplatively.

"It kind of fits you."

Harry blinked at the blunt statement and cocked his head to the side in a silent question. David hesitated before answering letting Harry know that whatever he had to say pertained to the war.

"You used to be called a demon..." David trailed off sadly.

It was true. After it was only he and David, Harry seemingly lost all morals and restraints. He killed brutally and without mercy. Nothing could stop him from getting to his lifetime enemy, and with David at his side he seemed unstoppable. In those dark times David was his moral compass and the one to control him, but on the battlefield... They worked as if they were one. Fighting back to back going all out on their foes. Even now they retained their awareness of each other. To others it seemed as if they were reading each others minds, or as if they were twins in everything but blood.

"Even here the past still follows me." Harry murmured. "However, maybe I can be a different demon this time."

David stared at him questioningly.

"This time, maybe I can be the one who lives under monsters beds, the one who beasts close the door of their closets in fear of, and the one who lurks in the shadows to prey on demons. I swear it."

David chuckled and walked over to Harry to stand at his side. He clasped a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll drink to that."


	3. Shadow King

David clapped his hands loudly. "Alright! Let's get this started!" His blue eyes sparkled in excitement and his light brown hair flopped between his shoulder blades as he bounced on his heels. He was tall and muscular, so it looked strange to see such a bulky, intimidating man acting like a child.

Harry stepped forward and stared at his avatar for a moment. He slowly brought his hand up and brushed his fringe back until he could see his left eye. He sighed deeply, looking into the sightless left eye that mirrored his own.

"It even copied my failures..." He murmured softly.

He kept his fringe covering his left eye for a reason. It reminded him of his failure the fateful day Hermione died. He and Hermione were on a mission, only to find out it was a trap. Someone had betrayed them and the result was not pretty. Bellatrix was the one to kill Hermione. She had flung an overpowered cutting curse at an unprepared Hermione. Harry had seen it and tried to push her out the way but he hadn't made it in time. She was beheaded and cut to pieces while Harry got cut twice on the left side of his face. One was from his temple, across his eye and lips to his chin. It was in a crescent shape curving towards his nose. The second had almost cost him his life. It had cut from his left shoulder, over his neck and stopped below his left eye. He had barely been saved but it had cost him his eye. The avatar in front of him had the same scars he had. He let the fringe fall back onto his character's face.

"Would you like to get rid of the scars?" David asked from behind him.

There was a moment of silence before he answered.

"No..." He wanted to keep the reminders of his past even if they were horrible ones. It was a way to remember everyone. "Will all of my scars be on this body?" Harry asked.

"Yes. The scans we perform before a player makes an avatar completely copies the body so Second Life could create a character based off the player."

"Does the character have to be exactly like the player?" Harry asked.

David blinked at the question, thrown off his sad train of thought.

"No, not at all. You can be a completely different person in-game. It's just that the game has 99.9% reality, so we usually keep the player's avatar mostly like the player. Not to mention that most of our players like to keep their regular appearance in the game. It's a bit of a psychological thing really... " David trailed off at the exasperated look being thrown his way.

Harry looked back at his character. A glint came into his eye after a second.

"Taller." He stated. He hated being so short and now was his chance to be tall for once!

David looked surprised for a bit before recovering and laughing.

"Of course you would want to be taller. How tall?" David grinned.

"Six feet!" Harry exclaimed.

David snorted before complying with Harry's request. "Of course, Your Majesty." He said sarcastically.

Harry's avatar grew before his eyes. Along with his height, his tail grew to a few feet longer than he was tall (which was incredibly long in his opinion), his claws grew longer along with his horns, and his face grew sharper and more aristocratic. He became even more long limbed but he was still wiry with muscle and his clothes and hair grew to match his new height. As his hair moved and grew he caught sight of his characters ears. They were pointed like an elf's but still human sized. Harry nodded in satisfaction at his characters new height.

"Skin color?" David asked.

The milky white skin of his character was nice and looked soft to the touch. He thought for a moment, picturing his character with different skin colors.

"Same."

"Hair?"

"Same color, just make it straight." If he didn't have to, he would _not _deal with the mess that was his hair.

"Eye color?"

"Same."

"Markings?"

"Sa- wait, markings?" Harry asked.

"Yup. Markings." David nodded decisively. Harry raised an eyebrow at the lack of an explanation before David rolled his eyes with a heaving sigh. His head lolled to the side in a mockery of boredom while he spoke in a slow monotone.

"You know, like tattoos? Scars, war paint, permanent make-up, or just piercings. That kind of stuff." He finished. Harry's lips twitched down a bit, a sure sign he was getting irritated. However, his mind soon got caught up in the many possibilities these 'markings' had. They went through many different ones, until Harry finally decided.

It was two tattoos, both exactly the same. They both started at his collarbone with two thick lines each and just below his jaw, merged into a triangle that rose up onto his cheeks at an angle. **(1)** Both of them were a bright neon green that glowed in the dark shadows cast by his characters hair. The four thick lines went down from his neck, his shoulders, and branched off into many different swirling lines that curled around his upper arms.

"Mmm.. I need something to cover my eye.. something that would blend in." Harry murmured. David nodded.

"Alright then!"

Suddenly, a cloth square the same pitch black as his hair appeared over his left eye. There were two strings the same pallor as his skin attached to the cloth and crossed over in an 'x' shape underneath his characters unbound hair. The were only two visible parts of the strings. The sting attached to the top right corner went over his eyebrow and crossed his temple, and the string attached to the bottom right corner went right underneath his eye and ear without bisecting his tattoo. The black square of cloth was camouflaged easily by his hair being the same color and covering it.

"Okay, so, there's a whole bunch different type of demons you can be, and you have to choose one." David stated.

Harry looked at him with a shocked look. "I have to _choose _what type of demon I can be, even though you just said there's a _whole bunch of different types?"_ Harry was starting to regret this.

"Usually it's just a type of animal that the demon represents, like a cat, or a raven. Though there are the rare ones who just choose an element affinity." David explained.

"Element?" Harry asked.

"Mhm, like fire, water, earth, air, light, or shadow. No demon has picked light though." David snorted.

A laugh came involuntarily from Harry's lips at the image that popped up in his head of a demon with a light affinity.

"I'll pick an element then. Much easier."

David laughed. "Which one?"

"Hmm... Shadow. I've always preferred the dark." Harry told him. Brief memories of the comforting pitch black of his cupboard and flitting through the night during the war emerged in his head.

"Shadow it is!" David exclaimed.

Suddenly, around his character shadows formed and lifted from the ground. They wrapped almost lovingly around its form before seemingly being absorbed into its skin, mostly in the chest area though it still covered its whole body. Harry raised a surprised eyebrow.

"Perfect! Now, can I change the clothes?" He asked.

David shook his head in a negative.

"Sorry, but all characters start off in the newbie clothes, and what your avatar has on is exactly that." David stated.

Harry grimaced in dislike for the robes. "Fine." He sighed heavily.

"Well, I'm allowed to give you one wish, as long as it's not too outrageous, like genderbending." David shuddered at the thought of Harry as a girl. Who would he have guy talks with then? He would probably have 'girl logic' and have mood swings and be unpredictable and-and...! Harry would be lost forever! He mentally cried rivers of tears at the mental image.

"David?" Harry asked innocently.

David stared before breaking out in real tears. "Just tell me your wish!" He sobbed out.

A thoughtful look came over Harry's face as he ignored David's river of tears before realization as well as a good amount of sadness replaced it. "Butterflies..." He muttered.

"'Scuse me?" David asked, miraculously recovered.

"Luna always loved butterflies..." Harry whispered. David's face crumpled at the memory of the sweet girl. Seers payed a terrible price for their foresight. Slowly, so very slowly, they went insane. Seeing so many futures made them lose touch with reality, never knowing what was real and what was not. It was a horrible existence. Luna couldn't take it after a few years into the war...

"I want dominion over butterflies." Harry said quickly. It successfully jerked both of their attentions to a different subject. It still lingered in the back of their minds though.

"Okay... Just let me ask my superiors." David said quietly and closed his eyes.

Harry waited for a moment and David opened his eyes. "They give their permission. Now, what do you want them to look like?"

"Papilio ulysses butterflies." Harry answered instantly.

Papilio ulysses butterflies had wings ranging from the deepest to the brightest blue. The edges of the wings were outlined with thick black and sometimes dotted with white. Blue, just like Luna's eyes... David nodded in understanding. A papilio ulysses butterfly faded into view, fluttering softly before landing on his avatar's shoulder. They both watched with rapt attention until David broke the silence with a hushed voice.

"W..we need to name your character now."

A quick shake off Harry's head cleared his mind.

"Ugh, how many things do I need to do..."

"This is the second to last, promise!" David said fervently. He wouldn't want Harry to quit on him at the very end. An idea came into his head that made him smirk.

"There's this hotshot guy that's real popular in Second Life right now. How 'bout we show him up, eh?" David snickered.

"And how, exactly, are we going to 'show him up', David?" Harry asked, mildly interested but hiding it well.

"We'll name you King!" David shouted.

"No." Harry said bluntly.

"Ah c'mon! How 'bout just something with 'King' in it? It would be awesome!" David tried to say in a persuasive voice. "Like.. like, 'King of Shadows'!" He suggested.

"Too long." Harry said.

"Then just 'Shadow King'!" David waved his hands in the air as if presenting the name to him.

Harry was quiet for a moment. It fit with his affinity, and if he didn't have 'King' in his name then David would complain about it forever. With the name, he would have to master his shadow ability... but he always strived to be the best and to master everything, so what difference was this? A tiny, almost there smirk formed on his face.

"Okay." He accepted.

"Really?! Yes!" David crowed in victory.

"Which continent do you wish to be born on? There's central, northern, eastern, southern, and western continents." David listed mechanically, still thinking of his victory.

"Which continent is a better place for demons?" Harry asked.

"Northern continent." David answered immediately.

"Northern continent it is." Harry nodded solemnly.

The next instant he was combining with his character and falling into a world of black.


	4. Arrival

The transition between bodies was confusing.

It felt as if his real body was dying, and his second was coming to life. _'If my real body dies, the game wouldn't be selling right? So is this normal?' _It felt as if his _soul _was travelling through apparation. Getting squeezed into a tiny straw and spit out unceremoniously at the other end. It was a good thing he had good reflexes, or his face would have been meeting the floor. He landed lightly on his feet, only to faceplant because of his lack of proper balance. He was unused to the new height and additions to his anatomy.

"Hah.. A newbie!"

"Should we PK 'im?"

Snickering came from a dark corner in response to the high voice.

"Nah... I just logged on. Got things to do. Let's go."

As Harry lifted himself from the ground, he was glad he didn't just get killed in his first few moments of the game. He stood up carefully, instinctually using his tail to keep himself upright and walking back and forth haltingly to get use to his new height. Eventually, after he regained a portion of his old grace back, he observed his surroundings.

He was surrounded by decrepit, ominous looking buildings of all shapes and sizes. Snow covered everything in a thick blanket of white and his breath came out in large puffs of white. Shadows seemed to dance with movement and the air had a sense of doom that would send chills down the hardiest of humans. Harry simply blinked. After all, he had been through worse. The night sky was filled with gloomy clouds seemingly ready to burst with rain or snow at any moment and a new moon filled the sky, the only lighting flickering old lamps creaking in the cold wind.

The only way of telling if this town was empty were the whispers carried by the wind, the hushed sounds of movements, and the occasional glowing eyes in the dark. Harry stood at the arrival and teleport point in the town, a raised circular platform made of dark granite rock with an arch made of the only two living trees - or living _anything_ besides the players - in the town. He quickly stepped down from the platform and onto the uneven cobbled streets. His clothes swirled around him and the curved black claws on his toes clacked against the dirty bricks. Harry frowned. _'I'm going to have to work on making my movements silent..' _

As he walked down the street slowly making his steps progressively silent Harry inspected his new body. He moved fluidly and with grace, this body's muscles contracting and releasing smoothly with minimal effort of each movement. Half of his fingertips actually _turned into _claws, not only the nail as he first assumed. The claws were four inches long and were hard and glossy almost like polished obsidian. They glinted dangerously in the lamp light. His tail was strong and lethal, as he found out when he accidentally whipped it straight through an iron lamp post. It was tipped with an arrowhead like end and was razor sharp. Not to mention that the two feet longer than he was tall length gave him an extended reach.

Harry seemed to be hyper-aware of his body. Every sense was amplified. His nose twitched at the plethora of scents that bombarded it and his sense of touch made him step even more lightly than he was before making him almost soundless. The swishing of his clothes and sound of fabric against skin gave his position away. He could hear almost every sound within a two yard radius of himself.

When he opened his mouth his canines glistened and it seemed to him as if he was tasting the night air itself. When he touched his horns he immediately drew his hand back at the sharp tingle that went through it. Evidently his horns were especially sensitive. He could see in the dark perfectly fine and it seemed like second nature for him to curl the shadows around himself. His affinity with shadows at work there. He quickly walked out of town, crooked and woodlice eaten signs showing him the way.

The forest surrounding the town was dark and covered with snow. Almost all of the trees were dead in the first few yards through they grew more lively and bunched together the farther back he went. Harry walked without a sound searching for low level monsters. Soft snow brushed his bare feet as he walked. He slipped in and out of shadows seamlessly and was startled at a loud voice booming in the air.

**Player 'Shadow King' has learned **_**Shadow Walking**_** Level 1! To see your statistics and skills say ****System****!**

A tiny frown formed on his lips at the loudness of the voice, sure that it had just attracted attention. After a five minutes of calm he let out a sigh.

"System." He said quietly.

A large screen popped up in front of him, making him jump back in alarm. He calmed down after a second of holding his chest and trying to slow his fast-beating heart. He studied the screen in front of him.

There was a large head shot of him taking up the left side of the screen with his username and gender beneath. His bangs covered his left eye and his one showing eye was cold and severe. It made him look as if he was disapproving of and mentally frowning at whoever he was looking at. His plump pale pink lips were in a straight and unforgiving line. His delicate bone structure, high cheekbones, and straight nose making him seem like a noble. He slightly smirked at the aura of quiet confidence that even his picture gave off. To the right were his statistics.

**Strength: 6, Stamina: 8, Agility: 10, Intelligence: 6, Spirit: 9, Wisdom: 10, Charisma: 8, Luck: 5/-5**

**Special Skills: **

**Shadow Walking: The ability to blend into the shadows and walk unnoticed. The higher the level the harder it is to be noticed. Level 1.**

**Experience: 0**

Harry stared at his luck wondering how the hell his 'Potter Luck' had followed him into a _game._ A _game!_ He resisted the urge to facepalm. Another sigh made it past his lips and he closed the screen.

He kept walking using his new skill, until he came upon a small clearing with dark blue transparent slimes surrounding a girl.


	5. Not all Light is Good

The moment he stepped into the clearing with the intentions of saving the girl was the moment the game stopped. Well, only the field stopped. It reminded him of the moments in .Hack where the game glitches, and codes floated in the air while the light dimmed.

Warily he automatically tried to spread out his magic to sense what was around him, only to fall to his knees in pain. An eerie feminine giggle sounded around him.

**"I wouldn't do that if I were you~! Right now your soul is trying to get used to the body you're in now and because of that, your magic hasn't settled into it. Trying to access your magic now will only bring you pain~!"** The voice- or rather, voices, as it was millions in one- said. It was impossible to describe it.

_'My soul? But.. why would my soul be in _this _body?' _That thought promptly disappeared as another wave of pain passed through him. Magic was a major part of the soul, it was the final layer of the it. The protection. The soul created magic and fed it into the body, anchoring itself to the body at the same time. Abruptly switching bodies and taking his soul along with him like he had apparently done, even though this was a game, had disrupted his magic. His magic was not used to this body and was still finding ways to fit itself into it. Using it now would be folly and would mostly likely destroy him from the inside out. _'Tch.. Of course this would happen to me...'_

Looking upwards he found himself staring into wide, almond-shaped golden eyes. They seemed to glow with their own inner light. The owner of the eyes was a little girl, with clear hair like water, each strand outlined in a glowing white light. It flowed behind her small body and heart-shaped face as if in the water it resembled. She was clothed in a simple grey spaghetti strap dress that went to her knees. Her skin was a dark brown color, and her nails long and sharp. She smiled and her pink lips stretched to show sharp white teeth. She floated in the air without a care about the laws of gravity.

He stared intently at her trying to figure out what exactly she was and she giggled again. She was like a strange amalgamation of evil and light.

**"Heehee~! You should know better! Not all darkness is evil, and not all light is good~!" **She twirled in the air laughing.

Mind reading. He should have known better. "Who are you?"

**"Hmm... That's quite a question? Tell me, do you know who you are?"** She tilted her head in the side in question. He remained silent, and she grinned wider.

**"Well... I've come to tell you something. Find the bonds you're missing, and defeat that which needs to be defeated." **She said, turning serious. Confusion filled him.

"Bonds... Defeated...?"

**"Yes. Bonds. When you find those bonds, wonderland shall be whole, and the light that makes the darkness will be found, to defeat that which needs to be defeated."**

Harry sighed inwardly. For him, talking was not a necessity. He only ever talked to David now. He had donned a silent persona when they had _'moved'_. He felt frustration building up in him as a result of having to speak for so long.

"Why?" He asked.

**"You'll need to, trust me. I cannot be sure how long you have, but you do not have long." **The girl turned pleading and he had a feeling that she would have never done such a thing before now. **"**_**Please...!**_** More than this world is hanging in the balance!" **She begged.

Anger started to fill him. He was being roped into saving people again. He left that world behind, and along with it, his saviour status. He would not do this again! He opened his mind to say so.

**"Do really wish to never see those friends of yours again?!" **She asked desperately, no doubt reading his thoughts again. Her words made him stop though.

"...Friends?"

She seemed to brighten with hope. **"Yes! Your friends! You will see them again, should you do this, and not just in Death!"**

He pursed his lips. "How?"

**"Find the bonds." **Was all she said before abruptly looking upwards. **"I must leave. However, remember, **_**'When you find those bonds, wonderland shall be whole, and the light that makes the darkness will be found, to defeat that which needs to be defeated.' **_**Soon, you will need that to guide your way in the times to come." **She disappeared and the world returned to normal.

_'Wonderland, huh?'_


	6. Job Selection

Standing carefully, Harry stared thoughtfully at the spot where the girl had once been. _'Bonds, huh?'_

He shook his head forcefully trying to get the thoughts out of his head. He would think about this later. He would think about it when he left the game. Now it was time to level up. Looking around and finding himself surrounded by level one slimes, he smirked. He flicked his tail and his claws glinted menacingly in the moonlight. About one hour later, after much grinding, he finally achieved level ten.

He wiped a pale hand across his forehead. Opening his map, he used it to find the beginners town and started walking. On the way there, every time he came across a monster he would kill it. After all, it would help him in the long run, right? He walked along the dreary path at the edge of the forest and went into town. Now to pick his job...

In the town, there was an 'alley' where players can find all the jobs. Walking down this alley, Harry perused the buildings. There was a mage job, _'How amusing..'_, a warrior job, a thief job, and a necromancer job. He carefully considered all of them.

The warrior job was far to up close and personal for him. He used to just charge in recklessly and without thought, but now he preferred to observe and strategize from the background while commanding others.

A thief job was to 'shadowy', ironic that it was that he had a shadow affinity. He didn't enjoy sneaking around in the shadows, he just enjoyed hiding in them. The attributes did not much suit him anyway.

The mage job was out of the question.

So all that left him was the necromancer job. Oddly, it suited him the best. He could command minions and watch from the sides, and it was a kind of joke in and of itself. He was Master of Death wasn't he? Then shouldn't he have some command over Death and those things affected by it?

With a smirk he headed swiftly towards the building. Stopping in front of it he took a moment to scrutinize it. It was old, if the rotting wood that made the building and the tattered curtains were any indicator. It had a front patio, sagging with disrepair. Hesitantly, he stepped onto the steps that led to the patio, almost sure that it would break the moment he put weight on it. Miraculously, it held. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Quickly walking up and to the front door he made sure to step carefully. He opened the door in front of him and took a step inside.

It was dusty. The door had made a sweeping arch of dust on the floor were it had moved across the floor. The room was filled with shelves holding various objects, all looking either vaguely or glaringly related to death. It was dark inside the room. The moonlight from outside barely made it a few feet past the doorway before stopping.

Cautiously he made his way to the back of the shop. He used his affinity well here, using it to see clearly and making sure he would not be attacked. A few minutes later he found himself in front of an old woman who was sitting in a rocking chair.

"You... are the job giver, yes?"

The old woman observed him silently. She had an oddly sharp grey eyed stare for her apparent age. She was dressed in robe like apparel in somber colors with a smooth white walking cane she was leaning forward on. She nodded slowly.

"Yes. You are here for the quest?" Her voice was low for a woman and with a soothing warmth to it.

Harry nodded. "Correct. Is there anything I need to do before hand?"

A smile quirked her lips. "Good. You are cautious. No there is nothing you must do before hand, though you must do something afterward."

"Something I must do after?" Harry asked in a wary tone.

"Yes. You see, a necromancer must have something to channel their power through, a staff, a symbol, a weapon. You must choose what you wish for that something to be before you come back with the finished quest."

His eyebrow lifted in an incredulous way. "That is all?" He shook his head dismissively immediately after. No need to jinx himself. "Alright. What is the quest?"

"To the west of the town there are ruins of an old castle. Many years ago, a human king attacked the castle out of hatred and fear, massacring all who lived there. In the ruins, you find _Spirits_ of all who died. Go there and release twenty spirits. Upon their release you will receive a _Token _from each one. Bring back all if these and the quest will be fulfilled. Good Luck."

Hearing the clear dismissal, Harry left quickly. "Well... Twenty _Spirits_ huh? This might take me a while..."


End file.
